The evil that men do
Catholics in South Africa will have noted with shock revelations of sexual abuse by priests of minors.
The coverage in the secular press, radio and television will have reinforced a public perception of the Catholic Church as a haven for sexual predators, now with the twist that there are priests among offenders many have known locally.
It merits persistent reiteration that there can be no tolerance for sexual abuse of any kind in the Catholic Church, or elsewhere. Such violations, especially when committed by people in privileged positions of trust, are contrary to the Gospel values we Catholics espouse. It is right that such priests, if found guilty of crimes against civil and/or Church law, should be punished in proportion to their offence by the respective authorities. There can be no exemption from justice.
The Church’s concern must be first for the survivors of such abuse and their families, and for the great majority of priests who have conducted their ministry with undiminished integrity, but may now be regarded by many with mistrust as a result of the transgressions of their brother priests.
At this time it is also crucial to keep in mind that the human failings of Church officials do not in any way compromise the salvific nature of the Church which comes from God through the Holy Trinity, the Real Presence in the Eucharist, or any of the essentials that define us as Catholics.
When international reports of sexual abuse, and their chronic cover-up, reached South Africa, these could be absorbed with a measure of objectivity. Now that such reports emerge locally and, if international experience is a guide, one may predict that more may become known such objectivity is not easy to maintain.
Fr Patrick Thornton, the Cape Town priest convicted of indecent assault on two teenagers, was a popular, respected and well-known priest. Public reaction to his conviction and serious car crash soon afterwards included harsh forms of censure, especially in his former parishes, sometimes going as far as to regard his accident as just punishment for his transgressions.
Such flawed theology belies the Gospel, which calls on us not to sit in judgment and urges us to find forgiveness. Yet for people under the pastoral care of a predatory priest, forgiveness may be hard to find. The risk of being exposed to sexual abuse was close to home; their anger is understandable.
A priest is rightly held to higher standards than others, because he represents Christ in the Mass. But a priest is also a mere human being. Even when he is publicly exposed as a sinner, and full rehabilitation in his ministry is impossible, in his brokenness he cannot be simply cast aside.
The faithful now confront the question of whether the revelations of sexual abuse annul the offending priest’s body of work, in Fr Thornton’s case 50 years of pastoral ministry.
One may think of Antony’s speech in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar: The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones.
More than any court sentence, ostracism or mishap, this may be the true and harsh penalty for the abuser priest.
As Christians, we must pray for the survivors of sexual abuse and all those affected by it but we must spare also a prayer for the spiritual healing of the offender. Difficult though it may be for some, it is the Christian way.
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